Dialysis And Artificial Kidney

Kidneys in the human body, are about the size of a fist, located on either side of the spine and serve the function of purifying the blood by removing waste products from the body. It is an essential part of the excretory system. When the kidneys fail, it results in a lot of complications. The human body works as a well-oiled machine and a small malfunction can cause bigger problems. To compensate this situation a technology called dialysis has been developed.

Kidney Failure Vs Dialysis

Kidney failures can occur due to several reasons. It may happen from an acute situation that might have injured the kidney, poor intake of water to chronic diseases that gradually cause the kidneys to stop. Fortunately, if only one kidney fails, it is removed and one can survive on the other kidney since we are born with two. However, if both have been damaged, then a transplant is in order. Once kidney failure sets in, the goal shifts to preventing further deterioration of renal function. The first step in achieving this goal is to use a dialysis machine. Dialysis cleans waste products in the body. They are two types:

Dialysis and Artificial Kidney – Hemodialysis

Hemodialysis:

It uses a machine filter called a dialyzer or artificial kidney. This is to remove excess water and salt, to balance other electrolytes in the body and remove waste products of metabolism. Blood from the body is removed and flowed through a membrane. A dialysate flows on the other side of the membrane, which draws impurities through the membrane.

Peritoneal dialysis:

Peritoneal dialysis

To get rid of waste and to balance electrolyte levels, it uses the lining of the abdominal cavity as the dialysis filter. A catheter is placed in the abdominal cavity. Then the dialysis solution is dripped in through the catheter and left in the abdominal cavity for a few hours after which it is drained out. In that time, waste products leech from the blood flowing through the peritoneum and attach themselves to the fluid that has been instilled by the catheters. Mostly the patients prefer to instill the dialysate fluid before bedtime and drain it in the morning.

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